A Man Tried to Steal from a Walmart . . . During a “Shop with a Cop” Event – LINK
Footprints in snow lead authorities to burglary suspect: sheriff’s office – LINK
A Guy Complained to the Cops When He Didn’t Make Their Most Wanted List – LINK
A Sword-Swallower Was Hospitalized with Injuries Consistent with . . . Swallowing Swords – LINK
A Driver Was Ticketed . . . After Driving on a Highway with Thick Snow Covering Their Windshield – LINK
Florida Man Charged With Battery After Slapping Police Horse’s Butt – LINK
Celine Dion is dealing with a rare neurological condition called “Stiff Person Syndrome“. It may sound made-up, but it’s real . . . and it’s pretty serious. In an Instagram message to fans, she said that it affects only about one in a MILLION people, and it’s been causing the debilitating spasms she’s been experiencing. Quote, “Unfortunately, the spasms affect every aspect of my daily life, sometimes causing difficulties when I walk and not allowing me to use my vocal cords to sing the way I’m used to.” Celine has been forced to push back the European tour she was supposed to start in February, but she says, quote, “I have a great team of doctors working alongside me to help me get better and my precious children who are supporting me and giving me hope. “All I know is singing, it’s what I’ve done all my life and it’s what I love to do the most.” Celine had previously delayed her Las Vegas residency AND the U.S. leg of her Courage World Tour due to spasms. She was supposed to kick off the European leg back in April, but she pushed it to February. Now she’s moving those shows to 2024 (LINK)
A Christmas Story” star Peter Billingsley has a new podcast about . . . what else? . . . Christmas movies. It’s called “A Cinematic Christmas”, and it was co-created by Vince Vaughn. Peter will co-host with screenwriter Nick Schenk, who actually wrote the script for the sequel “A Christmas Story Christmas”. Over six episodes, they’ll take a deep dive into six Christmas movies . . . including Vaughn’s “Four Christmases”. And they’ll welcome guest stars from all the movies, which also include: “Home Alone”, “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”, “It’s a Wonderful Life”, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, and “A Christmas Story”. After Christmas, they’ll keep the podcast going, but with other genres . . . like romantic comedies for Valentine’s Day and horror movies at Halloween time.
Kate Winslet is embracing her beauty at age 47 and she hopes other middle-aged women can do the same. On the BBC’s “Woman’s Hour” podcast, she said she refuses to accept the idea that being in your 40s is the beginning of the decline of beauty. Quote, “We become more woman, more powerful, more sexy. We grow into ourselves more, we have the opportunity to speak and speak our mind and not be afraid of what people think of us, not care what we look like quite so much . . . “I think it’s amazing. Let’s go girls, let’s just be in our power. Why not? Life’s too flipping short.”
Season 3 of Amazon’s “The Boys” aired this past summer, and it included an episode called “Herogasm”. As you might expect, the episode featured a big superhero ORGY. During said orgy, one character’s wiener caught on FIRE. And apparently, they did NOT use CGI. The show’s creator, Eric Kripke, says, quote, “That guy did that for real. The gel is so good in terms of how it doesn’t burn you that it was a stuntman, and I was like, ‘Really? Are you sure that he’s going to do that?’ “And our stunt coordinator said, ‘Oh yeah, no, it’s going to be fine.’ So he got one of his stunt guys to rub all of that fire gel all over his junk and lit it . . . take after take after take. I couldn’t get over it.”
Was “Glee” a cursed show? A new three-episode documentary on the ID channel seems to be hinting at that. It’s called “The Price of Glee”, and the trailer says, quote, “In May 2009, 10 young actors made their TV debut on ‘Glee’. By 2020, all of them would be famous, and three of them would be dead.” (Check out the trailer here. The show airs on January 16th.) Three people associated with the show HAVE died, of course. Cory Monteith died from a lethal combination of heroin and alcohol in 2013, while the show was still on the air. In 2018, Mark Salling took his own life because he was about to be sentenced for possession of child pornography. And in 2020, Naya Rivera DROWNED while swimming with her son in Lake Piru in California. Okay, the first two, you can make a case . . . but if this documentary actually tries to connect Naya’s death to being on “Glee”, that’s just insane. I’m not saying I’ll be surprised if they do it, though.
Instead of rushing to find a permanent new host for The Daily Show, Comedy Central will bring in guest hosts to cover stories of the day. Long-time host Trevor Noah’s last show will be tonight. The fill-ins will begin when the show returns from holiday hiatus. People like Al Franken, Chelsea Handler, D. L. Hughley, Leslie Jones, John Leguizamo, Kal Penn, Sarah Silverman, Wanda Sykes, and Marlon Wayans have already been named to step in.
The man who shot and wounded Lady Gaga’s dog walker while stealing her French bulldogs last year took a plea deal and was sentenced to 21 years in prison on Monday, officials said. The man, James Howard Jackson, reached a deal with prosecutors under which he pleaded no contest to one count of attempted murder. Jackson was one of three men and two accomplices who participated in the violent robbery. The dog walker, Ryan Fischer, was walking Lady Gaga’s three French bulldogs on February 24, 2021, when he was attacked and shot in the chest. The attackers fled and stole two of the dogs, Koji and Gustav. A third bulldog, Miss Asia, ran away and was later found by police. The police had said that the robbers, who grabbed the dogs and fled in a car after the shooting, were not targeting the French bulldogs because they belonged to Lady Gaga. Evidence instead suggested that the men knew that the breed was valuable.
Billboard released their list of the highest-grossing tours of 2022. Not surprisingly, Bad Bunny came in at #1.
Here are the Top 20:
- Bad Bunny: $373.5 million
- Elton John: $334.4 million
- Ed Sheeran: $246.3 million
- Harry Styles: $214.4 million
- Coldplay: $208 million
- The Rolling Stones: $179.3 million
- Red Hot Chili Peppers: $177 million
- Def Leppardand Motley Crue: $173.5 million
- Kenny Chesney: $135 million
- The Weeknd: $131 million
- Morgan Wallen: $128.7 million
- Lady Gaga: $125.3 million
- Daddy Yankee: $125.2 million
- Billie Eilish: $106.2 million
- Paul McCartney: $105.1 million
- Eagles: $104.2 million
- Guns N’ Roses: $93.4 million
- Dua Lipa: $89.3 million
- Justin Bieber: $89.1 million
- My Chemical Romance: $87.9 million
Jackie Chan says a fourth Rush Hour movie might be on the way! “We’re talking about part 4 right now,” Chan said during an appearance at the Red Sea Film Festival. The actor — who starred alongside Chris Tucker in the first three Rush Hour movies — added that he would meet with the upcoming film’s director to discuss the script, though he did not clarify who will direct. Brett Ratner, who has directed every movie in the series thus far, has not worked behind the camera since 2014 after six women, including actresses Olivia Munn, accused him of sexual misconduct. Will Chris Tucker be involved? We will have to wait and see.
Friend of the Rizz Show Chris Kattan is hospitalized after a scary health situation forced him into emergency surgery … and as a result, he’ll miss some upcoming dates in his comedy tour. Apparently, he recently came down with Streptococcus Pneumoniae, an extreme case of pneumonia, and on Sunday was rushed to the hospital. From there, he needed emergency surgery, but thankfully the operation was successful. We’re told as long as things continue to go well, Chris will be released from the hospital Friday, and can hopefully return to work sometime in the near future.
HERE IS WHAT IS IN THEATERS THIS WEEKEND:
“The Whale“ (R) Trailer (Limited) – 70%
This is the drama that’s been earning Brendan Fraser standing ovations. He plays a 600-pound teacher who tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter.
“Detective Knight: Redemption“ (R) Trailer (Limited) – NO SCORE
This is a sequel to “Detective Knight: Rogue”, which came out earlier this year. Bruce Willis is Detective Knight, and the sequel picks up with him in jail. He gets caught up in a jailbreak led by the Christmas Bomber and his Santa Claus disciples.
“The Mean One“ (R) Trailer (Limited) – 23%
A horror parody of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”. Cindy You-Know-Who witnesses her parents being murdered by the Mean One. After she grows up, she decides it’s up to her to stop him from terrorizing the town 20 years later. The Mean One is played by David Howard Thornton, the guy who plays Art the Clown in those “Terrifier” movies.
NEW MUSIC OUT TODAY FROM….
• “Snoop, Cube, 40, $hort“, Mount Westmore. This is the debut album of the hip hop supergroup with Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, E-40, and Too Short.
- “SOS“, SZA. This is her second album.
- “Me vs. Myself“, A Boogie wit da Hoodie.
- “Permanent. Radiant“, Crosses.
If you’re in the mood to get in your feels this holiday season, here’s a list for you. These are some of the SADDEST Christmas movies of all time:
- “It’s a Wonderful Life”(1946): The movie opens with the main character contemplating suicide. Then flashbacks of his life show how he would compromise his dreams for others.
- “The Family Stone”(2005): Diane Keaton’s character reveals she’s fighting terminal cancer. There’s a time jump at the end showing the family celebrating Christmas after her passing.
- “The Family Man”(2000): Nicolas Cage’s character gets sucked into an alternate timeline where he married “the one who got away” and they have a happy family. But at the end he’s brought back to reality and loses it all.
- “Last Christmas”(2019): Emilia Clarke’s character falls for a man played by Henry Golding. He helps her get her life back on track, but at the end you find out he’s actually dead.
- “The Muppet Christmas Carol” (1992): When Scrooge (Michael Caine) visits his past, he sees how he put aside love for money. There’s a whole musical number called “When Love Is Gone”.
- “Klaus” (2019): It’s an animated Santa Claus origin story. One of the characters is threatened to be cut off from the family fortune.
- “Jack Frost”(1998): Michael Keaton’s character comes back from the dead as a snowman on Christmas, a year after his death.
- “Collateral Beauty” (2018): Will Smith’s character is grieving the loss of his daughter
CELEBRITIES CELEBRATING A BIRTHDAY
Howard from “The Big Bang Theory”, Simon Helberg is 42.
Green Day drummer Tre Cool is 50.
Wallflowers singer and Bob’s son, Jakob Dylan is 53.
Former pro-wrestler and Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle is 54.
This woman did 12 days in prison as part of the college admissions scandal. She’s married to William H. Macey. She was one of the housewives on “Desperate Housewives”, Felicity Huffman is 60.
Singer Donny Osmond is 65.
John Malkovich is 69.
Chicago Bears Hall of Famer Dick Butkus is 80.
Beau Bridges is 81.
Dame Judi Dench is 88.
On Saturday
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is 26.
Raven-Symoné is 37.
White Stripes drummer Meg White is 48.
Chef Bobby Flay is 58.
Former Illinois governor and criminal Rod Blagojevich is 66.
And on Sunday
Actress Hailee Steinfeld is 26.
Rapper Mos Def is 49.
Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx is 64.
Jermaine Jackson is 68.
Kylee Reese
Today’s birthday girl has been in 354 fine films, including:
– American Whore Story
– Babes With Babes
– The Best Way Is A 3 Way
– Diesel Dongs 12
– The House of Ass 9
– MILF and Honey 8
– And who can forget her role in 2013’s Slut Powers Activate
Kylee Reese is 36 years old
The Blues fell 5-2 and have lost seven of their past nine. It’s the ninth straight game the Blues have allowed four or more goals, and the sixth in the past nine they’ve allowed five or more.
A stunning end to last night’s “Thursday Night Football” game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Las Vegas Raiders. Baker Mayfield just took over as Rams QB a couple of days before. He orchestrated a last-minute comeback, with no time outs left. Here’s the final call. (Final Score: Rams 17 – Raiders 16. It ends a Rams six-game losing streak.)
It was a 98-yard game-winning drive with 1:45 remaining. Mayfield only had two days to work with the team. Even though it was an L.A. home game, the crowd was loud for the former Los Angeles Raiders.
Brazil kick off the quarter-finals on Friday when they face Croatia before Argentina take on the Netherlands in a tie dripping with history (LINK).
Brittney Griner, the WNBA star who was held for months in Russian prisons on drug charges, was released Thursday in a one-for-one prisoner swap for international arms dealer Viktor Bout. The one-for-one exchange agreement negotiated with Moscow in recent weeks was given final approval by President Biden within just the last week, according to sources familiar with the deal. The swap took place on Thursday in the United Arab Emirates.
Five former U.S. officials told News the agreement had been reached as of last Thursday.
A White House official said President Biden was in the Oval Office Thursday morning on the phone, speaking with Griner, and her wife Cherelle Griner and Vice President Kamala Harris were also in the room. Per standard procedure for freed U.S. prisoners, Griner was expected to quickly undergo a medical evaluation (LINK)
The Cardinals have their catcher! The Cardinals and Willson Contreras reached agreement Wednesday on a five-year, $87.5 million deal. The deal will be finalized in the coming days after Contreras, 30, passes a physical. The contract, which includes a no-trade clause according to a source, is the largest completed by the Cardinals with a free agent who was not previously on the team. The Cardinals outbid the Los Angeles Angels and the Houston Astros, the defending World Series champions who made a compelling offer to Contreras. Twice in the past six months the Astros have attempted to acquire Contreras. Contreras has been in the Cubs organization since he was 16 years old, joining the Cubs run academy in his native Venezuela at an early age. He would go on to play 734 games for the big-league club and will now make the jump to Chicago’s historic rivals in St. Louis. In doing so, Contreras joins an exclusive club of players like Lou Brock, Dizzy Dean and Bruce Sutter to play for both clubs. Signing a $87.5 million dollar deal with the Cardinals, Contreras became the highest paid free agent player who has never been a Cardinal to be signed by the club in franchise history. The deal surpasses Dexter Fowler’s five year, $82.5 million dollar contract signed in 2017. Fowler was also brought over from the Chicago Cubs (LINK)
KA-JERSEY! The XFL announced Wednesday that Under Armour will serve as the league’s official uniform partner and will be the exclusive provider of all on-field uniforms, including jerseys, base layer, sideline and training apparel for all XFL teams. And the league unveiled its jerseys for the upcoming season. The XFL’s St. Louis Battlehawks will kick off the new season on Feb. 18, 2023. The home jersey will be blue and the road jersey is grey. Each jersey features a “Blood, Sweat, Respect” mantra — a personal message from league ownership to the players. The XFL has yet to announce its schedule for the 2023 season, but the Battlehawks will again play its home games at The Dome at America’s Center downtown (LINK)
Four talented quarterbacks are nominees for the Heisman Trophy. The award for the best player in college football will come down to Georgia’s Stetson Bennett, Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, TCU’s Max Duggan, and USC’s Caleb Williams. The Heisman presentation takes place Saturday night in New York. Mills Lane has passed away. The Hall of Fame boxing referee was 85. He died on Tuesday at his home in Reno, Nevada. Lane refereed over 100 championship fights, including the infamous “Bite Fight” between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield. Lane was the animated referee in the claymation seriesCelebrity Deathmatch. He also had his own daytime show, Judge Mills Lane. Mills would give out the instructions to the boxers and end with his catchphrase, “Let’s Get It On!” Lane suffered a stroke in 2002, which left him paralyzed and unable to speak.
Slugging outfielder Aaron Judge chose pinstripes for life Wednesday, when he and the New York Yankees reportedly agreed to a nine-year, $360 million contract (LINK). While a long-term deal for Judge was always going to be at least $300 million, the 30-year-old made a bet on himself in spring training by turning down a seven-year, $213.5 million offer from the Yankees.
Judge then proceeded to have the season of his life, setting an American League home run record by smashing 62 dingers and winning the AL MVP award. Now, just over a month into free agency, he has received a well-earned contract that contains two years and more than $145 million more than what he was originally offered.
WHERE DOES HE RANK AMONG OTHER HIGHLY PAID PROS? (LINK)